New app to help reduce run-off and boost soil

A new app to help farmers reduce run-off and trap sediment before it reaches water courses is being developed by the James Hutton Institute (JHI), Syngenta and the Scottish Environment Protection Agency.

The tool will operate on a single field rather than whole farm basis and farmers will be able to acquire a run-off risk score by entering data on their soil type, top soil permeability, depth to compacted layer and agronomic practices.

The score a piece of land receives will determine the action which needs to be taken to reduce run-off and may involve checking irrigation timings, breaking up the soil surface or farm traffic management options to avoid compaction.

If a field receives a high run-off score additional data can be entered which will help refine the results further.

Run-off occurs when heavy rainfall can’t infiltrate the soil and instead runs over the surface of the land, picking up plant nutrients, pesticides or other pollutants which can have serious consequences for life in rivers and lochs.

JHI soil hydrologist Allan Lilly said the app gave land managers a tool to better understand the causes of erosion and the best management practices that will help to minimise soil losses.

He said: “I am delighted we were able to use our knowledge of Scottish soils to help refine and test this important management tool.